


The Woman and the Wife

by Tac



Category: Original Work
Genre: 1940s, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels, Interracial Relationship, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, Past Relationship(s), Smoking, Useless Lesbians, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24157381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tac/pseuds/Tac
Summary: Meet Karla, a single mother of Mexican descent who is trying to raise her two twin boys in the harsh world of the 1940s. Enter Elizabeth, Karla's best friend since high school, a married Caucasian woman who has a husband, a child, and the rest of life laid out before her like stepping stones.But what if leftover feelings neither women expected to resurface came rushing back to them all at once, what then?
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 2





	The Woman and the Wife

**Author's Note:**

> I finally got back into writing so have some OG work! To anyone wondering when I'll update "You are like me but taller!' I'm working on it... slowly but surely. Enjoy :)

William was hungry, It was nearly ten at night, and the sun went down hours ago. Meanwhile, the boy was scheming a way to get to the cookie jar on top of the kitchen counter. Even if he was the same height as it, he could see over the edge when he stood on his tippy toes. The delicious cookies seeming to taunt him as they were just out of reach, the boy hauled himself up the counter in near-feral like state, as if speed will help with achieving his goal-

_ “William!” _

It did not help, the boy froze as guilt and shame welled up in him of being caught, the sound of his mother’s voice echoing around his head. Her dark hands coming to wrap around his waist as he pulled him off the counter, the child whined as he tried to struggle out of his mother’s grasp before he was inevitably let down. William just protested even more as his mother kneeled down to his level to pinch his cheek, not hard enough to sting, but hard enough for William to feel the lingering effects of the pull when it was over with.

“You can’t have cookies after dinner, we talked about this!”

William crossed his arms, thinking since his mother did it all the time to him,  _ he  _ should be able to do the same.

“Roman got a cookie yesterday…” Even with the profound confidence of crossing his arms, William’s retort still came out in a murmur, looking at his feet when he said it didn’t help either

The expression on his mothers face only made him shrink further into himself, seeming disappointed and a little bit at shock.

“Because he broke his arm _ yesterday,  _ William.”

William’s mother pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head slightly before looking at her son again. William felt the familiar guilt well up in him as he just now remembered that crucial detail he overlooked in his statement. So what if he accidentally broke Romans’ arm? He just pushed his brother to hard, the rest was history. Roman didn’t wail like a baby when it happened, but their mother was all over Roman when it happened like he died.

“Hey, don’t cry. It’s in the past.” His mother wiped tears away from William’s face that the boy didn’t even notice were running down his cheeks. William sniffled, trying to hold back from crying now as his mother sighed.

“Just go to bed, alright? And try not to wake your brother up when you get there.”

A light, yet rapid knock on the front door alerted the two of them as his mother slowly rose from her kneeling position on the floor. Giving a glance to William before making the short walk out of the kitchen and into the entryway. William stood in place. His mother now out of sight thanks to the island of the kitchen blocking his view. He then heard the sound of the door opening, a heartbeat of silence filled the room before it was broken by the hushed voice of her mother.

“Elizabeth?” William confusingly tilted his head to the sound of that name, he didn’t know anyone named Elizabeth, at least he thinks he didn’t know a girl named Elizabeth.

“Can we talk?” William perked up at the sound of Mrs.Barry’s voice. He knew Mrs.Barry; he knew that woman all too well. She’s been best friends with his mother since high school, the two were basically joined to the hip. And she was a sweet lady too, always gave William candy when she visited, and the boy was more or less excited for her whenever she showed up. 

William thinks she has a kid too, what was his name again? Ted? Timmy? Who cares, he didn’t know the kid that well anyway, Mrs.barry was here, and she probably brought candy. But this felt different, the woman he grew to admire sounded, drained, maybe even a little sad?

“Of course,” His mother was quick to reply as the creak of the door seeming to emanate around the house. 

“Come in.” William imagined his mother doing a little bow as she held the door open for Mrs. Barry like in the movies, but he quickly discarded that idea, that was just silly.

‘Thank you…” The sound of Mrs.Barry’s heels clicking against the hardwood floor made the boy crouch down against the corner between the wall and counter.

“Do you mind grabbing some wine? I definitely need a glass after today.”

“Sure, give me a second.”

The boy watched the upper torso of Mrs.Barry come into view as she looked a tad bit off. Nothing major though, her bright blonde hair was still in the standard short and curly style, and her lips still haven’t changed from that cherry red either. What only stood out was her clothes, that simple bright blue dress she always wore was nowhere in sight.

While she was wearing a blue dress, it was made of silk. The colour was muted to a duller tone as the bell-shaped sleeves went down to her wrists, the short white gloves and a double pearl necklace truly brought everything together, or maybe it was the white fur coat she shrugged off that did it.

It screamed upper-class; everything she wore would cost a fortune.

She reminded William or Marilyn Monroe sometimes, but that illusion was usually broken thanks to her sparkling blue eyes; they were almost the same colour as Williams's eyes… And they were staring right at William, the boy blinked a couple of times as he realized he was staring at Mrs.Barry for far too long. Surely she would be angry at him, but she just smiled down at him.

“William, why are you sitting on the floor?” Mrs.Barry hung her coat on the edge of the few chairs near the island as she then circled around it. Crouching down to the level of the boy, much like how his mother did minutes before, only this time, William felt a little more at ease since he wasn’t being told off.

“My mom won’t let me have a cookie.” The boy looked away from the woman in front of him as she made a cooing noise that sounded like pity before she spoke.

“I’m sorry to hear that Will, I didn’t bring any candy with me either, so I can’t give you anything.” The boy who felt even more disappointed than he did before, but simply shook his head, not making a fuss, and not throwing a tantrum, if Mrs.Barry didn’t have any candy, so be it.

“It’s ok, I-”

“J, go to bed, I’m not asking again.” His mother’s voice made the boy cut himself off as he tried to look past Mrs.Barry to get a glimpse oh her. He could barely see her coily black hair just peeping behind Mrs.Barry’s silhouette.

“Lizzy, red or white?” William didn’t know what his mother was referring to, Mrs.Barry stood up as he got a short head pat from the woman.

“White, please.” 

“Light ice as usual?”

“Please, you know I can’t drink as much as you.” Even if William couldn’t see Mrs.Barry’s face, the smile was imminent in her voice. William’s mother then leaned to the side as the boy could see her clearly now, she was smiling. And holding two bottles in one hand as they clinked together while the other hand motioned him to go away. 

William finally obliged, pushed himself off the ground as he left the kitchen without a word. But before he even stepped foot out into the hallway, he felt a tap on his shoulder. The boy turned around to be presented with the delicious chocolate chip cookie he so desired by Mrs.Barry, he gently took a hold of the treat with both of his hands, his fingertips barely linking together around it. 

He opened his mouth to thank the blonde woman, but Mrs.Barry only held up a gloved finger to her lips. William smiled and nodded, running off to bed as he didn’t catch what his mother said to Mrs.Barry before he was soon opening the door to his room. Well, his and Romans room that is, because they weren’t that many rooms in the single floor house that William and his family lived in, yet it had an entryway. William heard not many homes have an entryway, which was a little weird, but that didn’t matter now. The boy had a cookie, and he was happy, already savouring the flavour as he shuffled his way to his side of the room. His brother was probably fast asleep, snoozing away like he was the next sleeping beauty.

William crawled into bed as he pulled the covers tight around his frame, knawing the last bits of the cookie down before he laid his head against the single pillow he had. The day soon slipping away from him as he teetered from slumber and consciousness.

That was probably a few hours ago if William had to guess, and now he was lying in his bed. Looking up at the blank ceiling that he could barely see thanks to the lack of light in the room. The boy was thirsty, he always was when he woke up in the morning, but it was still dark out, and his body just decided it needs water now. 

The boy slipped out of his bed, reaching to open his bedroom as he then noticed a faint light under the door. William paused, was his mother still up? It was probably long past her bedtime now, he pushed the door open, hearing the murmurs of voices as he rubbed his right eye and adjusted to the sudden change in light. 

Maybe it was William’s natural curiosity from his age, perhaps he just wanted to know what was being talked about. Whatever fueled him to make his way to the kitchen, he didn’t know. One moment, he was looking down the hallway, and then he was peeking around the corner into the kitchen. 

“It’s like he is obsessed _ with that s  _ chool, he barely pays attention to Thomas anymore, I’m sick of it.”

The faint smell of cigarettes filled William's nostrils as Mrs.Barry, and his mother both held one in their hands. Mrs.Barry having a cigarette holder for herself while William’s mother simply held the tobacco filled sick between her fingers. The boy’s mother took a sip of her drink before she spoke again.

“Yeah, it’s like he wants more work piled on him, have you confronted him about it?” 

Mrs.Barry let out a laugh, it was short, but it was different from the usual laughs William heard her let out, it was a self-deprecating type of laughter.

“You think I haven’t? Every time I try, he brushes me off! As if I even have a say in any matter anymore.” 

Mrs.Barry looked down at her cigarette, watching the smoke rise from the bud for a moment as she sighed.

“I wish I never married him…” The blonde covered her mouth with her free hand, her face contorting to a petrified expression as her whole frame quiver the moment those words left her. The silence hung low as William’s mother raised both of her eyebrows in shock, yet it was short-lived. Her face returning to that serious, yet concerned look she had before, maybe there was pity in there too.

“Elizabeth…”

_ “God, it hurts so much more when I admit it...” _

Elizabeth grasped the back of her hair with her free hand, looking down at the counter as a smile appeared on her face, her eyes turning glassy.

“Karla, we could’ve ran away together, started a new life, lived in a cottage isolated from everyone else on this earth, maybe even adopted a child or two once we settled in… But we didn’t take that chance, did we?”

Elizabeth looked into Karla’s eyes, a smile still eminent on her face as she caressed the other woman’s cheek, her pupils wide as she admired every feature of the coloured woman’s face.

“I just wish things would go back to how they used to be sometimes.”

No sooner than those words left Elizabeth’s lips, they were gently pushing against Karlas, the kiss being softer than any of what both women have ever shared. And as Karla thought about pulling away, she only stole another kiss from Elizabeth, then another, and another. 

Both not caring for the aftertaste of smoke and wine left on their breaths, nor the barriers they put up for their own safety crashing down around the two of them. There was no tongue, no sensual touches, nothing of the sorts, they just kissed and held each other as if the other will die if either of them let go. And even if it was only a few seconds, it felt like hours before both of them pulled away. Elizabeth rested her forehead against Karla’s as the Latina pulled her in close, wrapping her arms around the blonde as she got a whiff of that salty ocean perfume she missed so dearly. 

Elizabeth switched it out for vanilla when she and her husband David we’re arranged to marry by their families. That was also the day both women agreed to end their relationship for they’re own safety, their lives would be at stake if they didn’t.

But then that means Elizabeth wore this perfume just for her...

And god, does it fucking sting Karla’s heart when that detail registers for her.

“You’re drunk.” Karla’s voice was hushed, almost afraid that this is a dream, and she’ll wake up from it if she made any sudden noise. Elizabeth simply returned the hug, nuzzling into Karla’s neck as she savoured the moment as much as she could.

“So are you.” Elizabeth lifted her head, looking up to Karla as all the feelings she bottled up for the past kept spilling out.

“Please, Karla, can we move to your room? Just for tonight.”

Karla sighed, shaking her head as Elizabeth felt her heartbreaking even more than it already has.

“You know we can’t… Not anymore..”

The blonde shifted her teary eyes to look away as Karla placed her on Lizzy’s cheek, feeling Elizabeth leaning into the touch.

“Lizzy, you have a _ family  _ now. You can’t do that to David, to Thomas…” The tears Elizabeth was holding back finally spilled over, folding her arms over the counter as she silently cried into her arms. Karla sympathetically places a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder as she did her best to comfort her old lover.

Both women suddenly snapped their heads up to a creak in the floorboards. Their faces changed from scared, to horror, and a little bit of shame upon being face to face with a confused little William that seemed like he was just about to leave.

“Willa-“

“I’m going home!” Mrs.Barry cut Karla off as she hastily stood up from her seat, fumbling with the buttons on her fur coat that she slung over her shoulders. “I overstated my visit for far too long.”

“Well, there’s no way in hell you gonna drive in this state, you can barely stand Izzy!”

“Karla, I walked here, just... I’ll be going now-“

“ _ Elizabeth  _ .” The blonde woman froze at Karla’s tone, and so did William as he watched everything unfold. The Latina took in a shaky breath, her posture seeming more relaxed the next time she spoke.

“I’ll drive you home, no exceptions. Just wait at the entryway while I talk to William, alright?”

Elizabeth turned to face Karla, the empty pressure on her stomach worsening as she felt like throwing up, but that would be disgusting if she did 

“I…”

“Lizzy please, for me?” Karla’s tone was nearly a plea as Elizabeth looked into her eyes, soft and protecting, like how they’ve always been around her. The other woman nodded, turning her back as the click of her heels dampened when she rounded the corner.

Karla then focused her attention on her son, the boy suddenly looking stiff as he coward when she approached him. The woman sighed, getting down on both of her knees this time instead of one.

“I’m not mad. Jonny, why are you up?”

“I, I was getting water, but then I saw the light was on.”

Karla nodded, deciding not to beat around the bush any longer as she got to the point.

“How much did you see?”

“A lot.” Her son’s response was blunt, but she nodded anyway, coming to the conclusions that she can’t lie her way out of this.

“This never happened, we never speak of this again, and you will never tell Mr.Barry, Thomas, or anyone in that matter about this, are we clear?” 

The boy nodded, Karla felt some of the tension leave her body as she gently hugged him, not caring that it wasn’t returned.

“Thank you,” Karla stood up as she reached for the cookie jar, pulling out the treat William so desires and handing it to him.

“It’s all yours, just please go to sleep afterwards, alright? I have to take Mrs.Barry home, I won’t be long.”

And before William could even respond, his mother was already out of sight, leaving him alone in the empty kitchen. He walked back to his room, pushing the door open with his side as he stood underneath the frame.

The boy looked down at the cookie, any other time he would’ve been thrilled, but he wasn’t. William looked to Roman's side of the room, his brother fast asleep as he ever so carefully placed the cookie on his nightstand. It technically wasn’t an apology, but it was something nonetheless. William crawled into his bed once again, leaving the covers how they were as he listened to the faint sound of a car engine turning on, but he was too tired to care about that now.

He just wanted to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, "Haley Willaims - Cinnamon" fucked me up goood 😳


End file.
